My Kind of Blessing
by Anko-dono
Summary: Kakashi's not going to lose another one.
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: In this fic, I'm trying to show the different personalities of the characters. Like Kakashi, he can be serious, but he can also be funny. Tell me what'cha think by submitting a review or by e-mailing me. -.-; .

Chapter One: Take On Me

Hatake Kakashi stopped in his tracks when he saw a girl fall to her knees in front of him. A man appeared and Kakashi recognized him as Homura Wakago, the head of one of Konoha's greatest existing clans. Wakago walked over to the girl and bodily threw her to the side of their large house. _What the hell?_ Kakashi thought. _Isn't that his daughter?_ Just as Wakago was about to strike the sprawled girl, Kakashi stood between them.

"Move," Wakago ordered.

"What are you doing, Wakago-sama?" Kakashi asked the older man ever so politely yet with a cold, serious tone.

"Who are you to ask?"

"You are hurting her."

"She is my daughter and I can do anything with her."

Meanwhile, the girl looked up and watched them, her hands and knees still on the ground. Kakashi took a moment to glance at her but he couldn't see her face clearly, as it was covered by hair hanging limply and mud. He turned back to Wakago. "You are abusing her. She is your flesh and blood, it is a crime to harm her purposefully."

"She means nothing to me now," was Wakago's steely reply.

"If she doesn't, why do you bother to lay a hand on her?"

"You are right. And if you are so concerned about her, take her with you." And with that challenge, Wakago went back to the house.

For a couple of minutes, the silver-haired jounin wasn't quite sure what to do. He finally knelt beside the mud-streaked and bruised girl. "What's your name?"

She didn't answer. She just stared at him. Kakashi couldn't read her eyes, but he noticed that they were without tears. _What a tough girl_. Since it was clear that he wasn't getting an answer, Kakashi told the girl to follow him. The young Homura did as she was told and walked after the jounin like a shadow. Her limbs were sore and blood coming from the large scabs on her knees ran down her legs.

When Kakashi turned to check up on her, he was surprised to see that she was almost as tall as she was. "How old are you?" he asked. All he got was silence. _Is she mute? Or is this the result of Wakago-sama's abuse? I wonder what really happened._ He figured she must be about seventeen. This was going nowhere if he wouldn't be able to get any sound from the girl. "Well, sit down on that bench for a while. I will tend to your wounds."

The girl sat obediently. Her attention wavered for a moment and she directed her translucent eyes at the sky. She looked back down just in time to see the silver-haired man move to wipe off the blood on her right leg. She calmly took the wet cloth and the ointment from his hands and did everything by herself with Kakashi watching in amusement. Apparently, the girl was untouchable. He handed her some bandage and led her to his apartment.

"Who is she, Kakashi?" They passed Mitarashi Anko on the way. Beside her were fellow jounin Asuma and Kurenai, who gave Kakashi curious looks.

"Homura Wakago's daughter."

Kurenai looked closely at the girl. "Hyuro?" The girl stared back at her.

"Her name is Hyuro?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai. I saw her when I went to the Homura house a few months ago to deliver some things," Kurenai explained. "Hello, Hyuro."

Hyuro remained quiet, which intrigued Anko (causing her to check out the girl). "Holy crap! You've got a bruise the size of Japan on your arms! Is that a cut on your lip?" A closer look revealed that it wasn't a cut but a scar that started from the middle of her forehead down to her chin.

_What the hell!?_ Kakashi was shocked. How long had her father been abusing her? "Shit."

"What was that?" Asuma looked at his friend.

He just shook his head. "Hyuro is now under my care."

"Why?" Anko wanted to know. Kakashi ignored her question and excused himself and his newfound companion. He felt a little less awkward, finally knowing the girl's name. They proceeded to his place.

Kakashi turned on the lights and blushed slightly as he looked around. "Excuse me for a while." He whizzed around, straightening out his bed covers, hiding his precious books under the bed and generally just cleaned his room while Hyuro watched. "I'm not sure if you like ramen but that's what we're going to have for lunch. You can use the bathroom to wash up before we leave."

As usual, Hyuro said nothing. Once safe inside the bathroom, she slipped out of her soiled clothes and bandages thinking that Kakashi probably didn't wish to walk around the village with a mud-streaked girl in tow. The tub was soon filled up with just enough water and she stuck her toe in to see if the temperature was just right. She allowed herself to sink in.

Nearly an hour later, Kakashi was still waiting for Hyuro to emerge from the bathroom. _What is she doing in there?_ He thought rather curiously. He didn't think a girl like her could spend so much time in the tub. Knocking on the door, he asked, "Hyuro, are you OK in there?" As usual, his efforts were in vain. He decided to press his ear against the door. _There's no sound_, he began to wonder. _No running water, no nothing._ If she wasn't out in five minutes, Kakashi was going to consider it a case.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Three... four... five.

"Hyuro?" He tried again. This was a rather difficult situation. But who knows if she was trying to kill herself in there? He had a bad feeling about this. He reluctantly tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. He slowly opened the door and couldn't help but chuckle at what he saw. Hyuro had fallen asleep in the tub with her back facing Kakashi and the door. No wonder there was no sound. "Should I wake her up?" Kakashi asked himself. At rest, Hyuro looked even calmer.

Finally, Kakashi drew nearer to get the thin girl out, then he stopped. She was naked. And she might wake up. "I'll just leave her there," he mumbled, then decided against it because she might drown. Without _really_ looking, Kakashi carried Hyuro and placed her on the bed, drying her with a towel and covering her with his blanket.

Kakashi's stomach growled. "Damn, I'm hungry." There was a knock on the door so he opened it a crack and when he saw who it was, he stepped out and closed the door behind him.

"Kakashi, my boy!" The large, white-haired man in front of him grinned.

"What are you doing here, Jiraiya?"

"Just here to visit you. What are we doing out here? Let's go inside."

"I think it's probably better if we—" Kakashi tried to block Jiraiya's way but it was too late. The older man had managed to brush by him and into the apartment.

"Your place is unusually clean today, Kaka—" It was Jiraiya's turn to be cut short. "_Who_ is _that_ girl?" he whispered when he saw Hyuro sleeping on Kakashi's bed.

Kakashi didn't say anything but just stood hands in pockets behind the open-mouthed man. He'd let them say who she was themselves.

"Kakashi-kun." Jiraiya nudged him. "She's perfect for my data... she'll be the center of my story, for sure."

"I don't want you to use her."

"WHAT!?" the old pervert exclaimed (still whispering). "Are you serious? I can't let this chance pass me by! Do you read my books?"

"Yeah, I do," was Kakashi's calm reply.

"If you'll let me write about this angel, you'll get free copies! Come on, Hatake! Let me observe her for a while!"

"No."

By now, tears were streaming down the ero sennin's face. He pleaded and cajoled but Kakashi stood firm with his decision. He won't let Hyuro be exploited like that, especially now that she was his responsibility.

"Why? _Why?_" Jiraiya wailed. He continued sulking in the corner until Kakashi threw him out. "You are so selfish, Hatake! Not sharing your girl..."

"She is not my girl. She is not a thing that can be shared."

"Humph. It will be your fault if my next book won't be good."

"I'll still read it." Kakashi smiled prettily, eyes shutting for a moment.

Jiraiya stopped kidding around and looked at the younger shinobi seriously. "About what we talked about last week... don't forget."

"I won't," Kakashi answered just as seriously. He nodded at Jiraiya and went back in to his apartment. He glanced at the still sleeping Hyuro.

So much for lunch.

* * *

Hope ya liked it...


	2. Hey, She Talks!

On top of the Hokage monument, two tall men stood looking over the village, unseen in the dark. The raven-haired man's eyes glistened red as he turned to face his companion. "We will get the boy tomorrow."

"Why not now?" the shark-faced ninja asked. His blood ran cold when the other looked at him with disdain, as if resenting his questioning. "Sumimasen, Itachi. We'll get the boy tomorrow."

No doubt about it.

The master Sharingan user was back.

He couldn't sleep. An intense discomfort was lingering on his mind. He sat up on his couch-turned-bed and stared out the window, admiring the massive black sky highlighted only by the moon and the stars. He leaned back and continued his silent observation, blinking once in a while.

"Kakashi."

He sat up straight. The voice was unfamiliar, lazy and cool. Was he dreaming? Maybe. But then again, it sounded real. _Hyuro_. He had forgotten all about her. "Hyuro?"

The scantily-dressed girl was sitting on the bed, obscured by the night's blackness. She was staring at him. "You're not asleep." Her statement assured Kakashi that she _had_ indeed spoken.

Why is she talking now? Kakashi thought. "Couldn't sleep. You're awake, too."

"I'm always awake at night."

The man still found it hard to believe that Hyuro was talking, after several days of spending time with her silence. "Why is that?" he asked the girl.

"So I know what's happening."

_What?_ "What do you think will happen?" For once, there was a person he couldn't figure out.

"Something bad," Hyuro answered simply and honestly. She stood up from the bed and sat on the floor in front of Kakashi's spot on the couch. "Do you wish me to return to my home?"

"Do you want to?"

Hyuro didn't answer the question, instead, she asked him, "Do you find me troublesome?"

"No."

As if that was enough for her, Hyuro managed to give a small smile, a smile so fleeting Kakashi wasn't sure if he had really seen it. "Kakashi..."

"Hn?" He transferred to the floor beside Hyuro and rubbed his head slowly, meaning to rub off his headache.

"Go to sleep."

"In a while. You should go to sleep, too."

"I can't sleep at night."

The jounin was curious about her reason. He thought maybe the girl was scared that her father would come during the night to take her away. Suddenly, Kakashi felt the need to protect Hyuro. He didn't want her to feel afraid. He didn't want her to be hurt again. "It's not good to stay awake all night."

"I know."

"Ano..."

"I can't do anything about it," Hyuro said.

"What do you mean?"

"Every night, memories I'd rather forget come to haunt me. I'm afraid that if I sleep, my father might come. He's not really a bad man, but he can't bear to have a failure like me in the family."

So he was right. Hyuro really was terrified about being left unguarded. "Hyuro," he said seriously.

"Hai?"

"Go to sleep. I will protect you. I won't let anyone harm you. I promise."

A few minutes later, Hyuro fell asleep right there on the floor.

That's how much she trusted Kakashi.

With her life.

-

10 years ago

A ceremony was to be held for the nine-year old successor of the Homura clan. Every member of their great family was going to be there, to witness the moment where Wakago, the head, would officially let his daughter carry on the duties every Homura took on at that age.

Little Hyuro, pale and quiet, slowly walked into the large assembly room. She had found out that the task about to be handed to her wasn't one that she liked. For years their family had an enemy clan, the Uritemo. The said clan was among the high-ranking nin-families of Konoha until the day Hyuro's forefathers rebuked the Uritemo. They sank into obscurity and anonymosity. But not to the Homura.

It was every Homura's mission to take the life of one Uritemo, to rid of them all, yet sharing the stain of blood. What Wakago didn't know was that the last remnant of their nemesis had become his daughter's friend. Hyuro was the last of their clan to be given a chance to kill an Uritemo, it was considered an honor. But she saw it as a curse, an undeserved punishment.

And so she ran away, away from the ceremony, to tell Yusuke to run away. By the time Wakago and the others found Hyuro, she was sitting on the Uritemo's steps with her head on her knees and her hands clutching her hair.

"Hyuro!" Wakago called out sternly. "Stand up." As he drew nearer the trembling girl, his companions went inside their enemy's house to look for Yusuke.

"He's not here, Wakago-sama."

Wakago frowned. "Stand up, Hyuro. Shinobi don't cry."

Hyuro looked up, surprising her family with her dry eyes. She was definitely not crying.

"Where is he, Hyuro? Where is that Uritemo boy?"

The Homura head received silence.

And so now we know when Hyuro acquired her wordless state.

end of flashback

-

The next morning, Kakashi was contemplating about what Hyuro could wear. Her old clothes were too torn and dirty to be worn again and she couldn't very well keep on wearing Kakashi's bathrobe. "Is it OK if I leave you here first? I'm sure some clothing stores are open now."

"You don't have to buy anything. I can wear your clothes. You're nearly as thin as I am and I'm nearly as tall as you are." The girl stood up and went over to the solitary closet in the room. Everything looked the same. Black, black and black. Oh, there were also some green-grey-colored pants and vests, but dark-colored nonetheless.

Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "You won't find much in there."

"These will do," Hyuro replied. Her speech was a little slow and awkward, considering that she had hushed up for nearly ten years. She took out one shirt and pulled it over her head while Kakashi faced the opposite direction. Next she wore a pair of pants identical to what Kakashi was wearing, then slipped on sandals that were too big for her. "Uhm... Kakashi..."

"I'll buy sandals for you," the jounin said with a chuckle when he saw her plight.

"Thanks."

"Where's your forehead protector?" He hadn't seen one when he first saw her.

"I lost it." The steely edge in her voice couldn't be missed, but Kakashi didn't say anything about it.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"To eat."

* * *

some may like it, some may not. just lemme know what u think. ne?


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